A walk down Kamarah Ridge

The stinking hot, humid weather in Sydney has finally stopped, and it’s time to get the boots out. Excited about the weather, I wanted to get out on the trail, but had no walk in mind to do. I remembered seeing all the cars lined up for walks along Bells Line of Road and decided to find out what all the fuss is about. I finally decided to walk down the Kamarah Ridge, a short 5km walk.

I park the car and see there are many others who were just as excited about the weather as me. I lace up my boots, and I’m off. Not even 5 minutes in, I see a guy with a large climbing backpack and know instantly that all these cars belong to climbers.

I walk under the massive power lines, and I’m greeted by native grasses and trees. The bush here is lovely. There was a massive fire here, and it shows. All the mature trees are dead and silver. But the bush is regenerating. The new growth looks healthy, and the grasses are back. There are two main species of tree here. Both are regenerating with new young trees.

I pass some amazing rock structures that look like folds and strips of iron rich rock. They are geologically interesting to look at. I also notice the trail's footpad or soil at parts is very red compared to elsewhere in the area. I see many small birds and wished I had brought some binoculars.

As I walk along the trail, I get a small glimpse through the trees of North West part of Grose Valley. The walk is easy, and the trail is well defined. I pass what looks like an old, collapsed pagoda. The whole large structure is sitting at a 45 degree angle.

Shortly after, the trees disappear, and the view reveals itself. The views are amazing. I get to the end of the ridge and start descending down the spur. The bush changes to grasses and short shrubs. The view of the The Grose Valley is blocked by Wilkinson Hill.

The trail takes a big turn off the spur and starts heading down the eastern slope. It gets pretty steep, but there are solid slabs of sandstone that give you grip.

The Jungaburra Brook canyon reveals itself, and the trail ends at a cliff top. There is a scramble down to the valley, but it’s not a high-traffic trail. There are various rock faces. I look across, and I see rock climbers on the rock faces. I sit down and have lunch, watching the climbers on the cliff face. I hear other hidden climbers somewhere else in the valley yell with excitement as they fall safely.

After lunch, I start to head back to the car, which doesn't take long. The walk is nice, it’s obviously mainly used as an entry point for the climbers.

Below are some more photos taken on a different camera.